This proposal is for the continuation of the UCLA Intercampus Medical Genetics Post-Doctoral Training Program which utilizes the faculty and facilities of three of the UCLA medical campuses: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; UCLA Center for the Health Sciences, and Harbor/UCLA Medical Center. This past year we entered into an affiliation agreement with Children's Hospital of Orange County's Biochemical Genetics division. The faculty of this program provides research opportunities varying from basic molecular biology, genomics, cell biology, stem cell research, biochemical genetics, cytogenetics, population genetics, to clinical genetics and dysmorphology. The program has been structured to provide the trainees with Board eligibility by the American Board of Medical Genetics (ABMG), and the Residency Review Committee (RRC) of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) if they so desire. The primary focus of this NIH funded program is research training in medical genetics of post-doctoral M.D., Ph.D., and D.D.S. candidates who are highly motivated toward academic research careers in the field of medical genetics. The basic aim of the training program is to train individuals with a broad knowledge in medical genetics and an intensive experience in genetic research so they may enter the academic community as independent investigators. They are given a broad experience in medical genetics and intensive research training in molecular, biochemical, population and/or medical genetics for two years under this grant, and additional years for more advanced training are available for qualified trainees. ) PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: All human diseases result from the interaction of genetic variations and environmental factors. Recent advances in genetics are allowing us to identify the genetic variations that contribute to common as well as rare diseases. There is a rapidly increasing need for expertise in genetics at the clinical, biochemical, cellular, molecular and informatics levels. This training program will attract and train bright young scientists and physicians who will then be able to do meaningful research into the causes, prevention and treatment of genetic diseases, as well as perform and interpret the rapidly evolving clinical and genomic tests necessary to accomplish these goals.